Pursue
Jiang Yufan didn't know why Gu Sidu kept fainting in front of her, so she stepped forward and stood in front of him. The servants around her were already looking at Jiang Yufan with adoration: "Thank you, Bodhisattva, for saving our master! Our master is finally back!"
No one would believe her even if she explained, and explaining wasn't the most important thing right now. Jiang Yufan sent people to prepare towels and handkerchiefs to wipe her body constantly, and to chisel ice to make some cooling things so that Gu Sidu could eat a few bites when she woke up.
Jiang Yufan guessed that Gu Sidu must have suffered from heatstroke.
The servants undressed Gu Sidu, but hesitated to step forward to wipe his body. Jiang Yufan frowned as she looked at the unconscious Gu Sidu: "Saving lives is the priority right now. Why are you all just standing there doing nothing?"
"Reporting to the Bodhisattva, our master doesn't like others touching him, and he doesn't allow us to serve him closely on ordinary days. If he wakes up and finds out that we are wiping his body, he will probably be angry."
“But if you delay any longer, he won’t wake up,” Daoyun sighed helplessly. “Just do it this way, and we will explain this to Lord Gu when he wakes up.”
"Please, Bodhisattva, save us!" The servants all knelt down on the ground.
Daoyun was somewhat angry: "How could you let our Buddhist nun do such a thing? Men and women should not touch each other!"
“But only if the Bodhisattva does this will the head of the family not be angry.”
After all, Gu Sidu invited the Bodhisattva himself, so even if Gu Sidu was angry, it had nothing to do with them.
Jiang Yufan stood still, but after a while, she gave in and handed over a wrung-out towel. She sat on the edge of the bed and personally wiped Gu Sidu's body.
That's how things are in this world; some things aren't meant to happen to you, but they'll still fall on your head. Jiang Yufan was used to it; saving a life was the priority. Whether she believed in gods or Buddhas or not, Gu Sidu had to wake up.
As she was being cared for, Gu Sidu showed signs of waking up, though his eyes remained closed. Jiang Yufan noticed something was amiss when she touched Gu Sidu's forehead and discovered that Gu Sidu's body trembled slightly.
Her hands were icy cold, and Gu Sidu's forehead was no longer burning hot. Gu Sidu should be awake. To verify her thoughts, Jiang Yufan deliberately dipped the towel in fresh water, wrung it out, and gently wiped Gu Sidu's body.
Jiang Yufan deliberately increased the pressure when wiping Gu Sidu's chest, and at that moment, Gu Sidu cried out in surprise, sat up, and lay on the bed panting heavily.
Having been tested, Gu Sidu had already woken up.
Jiang Yufan, still holding the handkerchief with water droplets dripping from her fingertips, frowned as she looked at Gu Sidu: "Lord Gu, you've been awake for a long time, why are you pretending to be dead?"
"No, I just woke up." Gu Sidu shook his head, covered his head, and swayed as he was about to fall towards Jiang Yufan. Taking advantage of Jiang Yufan's sudden reaction, Gu Sidu rested his head on Jiang Yufan's shoulder.
Jiang Yufan didn't move, but she felt a weight on her shoulder and a source of heat coming towards her.
"Gu Sidu, what are you doing?" Jiang Yufan didn't understand, and she didn't want to push Gu Sidu away. She didn't know if Gu Sidu was really dizzy or faking it. Before she understood this, she couldn't move or push Gu Sidu away.
If something happens to Gu Sidu because of her push, then the blame will fall on her.
Jiang Yufan looked to Daoyun for help.
“Buddha, I think he is pursuing you,” Daoyun said with certainty.
Upon hearing this, Gu Sidu shifted his body, trying to move closer to Jiang Yufan.
“Gu Sidu,” Jiang Yufan called to him, “do you still recognize who I am?”
The two separated, and Gu Sidu looked up at Jiang Yufan. Gu Sidu's face finally had some rosy color, and he looked much better. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Of course I know who you are. You are my lucky charm, you are my bodhisattva."
Now that she knew, she shouldn't have done these things. Jiang Yufan's expression was cold, but Gu Sidu clearly saw that on Jiang Yufan's hair, which was styled in a bun, was the gold hairpin that he had given her.
This hairpin suits Jiang Yufan perfectly. Although it is an ordinary object, Jiang Yufan brings out a sense of aloofness in it, as if it were stored on a desolate mountain peak, radiating golden light, which makes people feel awe.
On Jiang Yufan, those things all became extraordinary and quite beautiful.
Gu Sidu's heart soared: "Bodhisattva, the gold hairpin in your hair is beautiful and suits you very well. It seems I made the right choice in giving it to you."
Jiang Yufan frowned again. At this moment, Gu Sidu didn't care about his own life or death, and actually had time to admire a gold hairpin.
She said, "You don't need to overthink it. I just don't want to let you down. I will think more about myself and not have any other intentions."
Jiang Yufan wanted Gu Sidu to understand that there was no, and could not be, a romantic relationship between them.
Gu Sidu's face darkened again.
"You have heatstroke. It's so hot outside in the summer. You didn't come home all night yesterday. What happened?" Jiang Yufan brought the conversation back on track. "I had someone prepare some cooling food. It will give you energy. You eat first, and I'll wait for you to finish."
Jiang Yufan offered to give up her seat so that the food could be served.
As soon as Jiang Yufan left, Gu Sidu tried to get up, but he was too weak and sat back down on the bed, his clothes wide open, revealing a glimpse of his thin, toned abdomen below his chest. Jiang Yufan turned her head away, as did Daoyun.
Gu Sidu lowered his head, buttoned up his clothes, and the servants brought in the food. While eating, Gu Sidu explained what had happened yesterday.
"I should have come back earlier yesterday, I'm sorry to have worried the Bodhisattva."
Hearing this, Jiang Yufan's expression remained unchanged, but she felt guilty. She wasn't actually worried about Gu Sidu; Gu Sidu had misunderstood. However, the misunderstanding came about in a very clever way, and Jiang Yufan couldn't explain herself. She could only listen to Gu Sidu continue.
"But my gift was not delivered to the head of the department, and he made things difficult for me. I was tricked! I did everything I was supposed to do, and things that weren't supposed to be my responsibility fell on my shoulders. The head of the department patted me on the shoulder and said that I was a great talent and should do more for the Hanlin Academy. These were things that I could do but others couldn't do well."
"So I kept working until dawn before I finally finished. Yesterday, I only ate the one bite of food that you, Bodhisattva, gave me. It was so hot, I couldn't walk anymore. I forced myself to get home, then my head spun and I collapsed."
This is the price of not giving gifts. Gu Sidu was indeed framed. Jiang Yufan looked at Gu Sidu with pity in her eyes. The officialdom is a deep and treacherous place; those without cunning cannot outmaneuver these old foxes. However, Jiang Yufan didn't understand these things either, and she really couldn't help Gu Sidu.
“But thankfully, you, Bodhisattva, saved me!” Gu Sidu put down his chopsticks, put his hands together, and bowed to Jiang Yufan devoutly. “I told you you are my lucky star. If it weren’t for you, I would have died at my doorstep. If it weren’t for you, no one would have taken care of me, and no one would have taken off my clothes to cool me down.”
As he said this, Gu Sidu touched his collar and couldn't help but smile.
“The Bodhisattva then looked over my entire body and broke the precepts for me, and I remember it all.”
Jiang Yufan's face grew increasingly grim. Gu Sidu's words were becoming more and more frivolous, which she could not tolerate. She said, "It was your servants who said you didn't like being touched by others and asked me to save you, which is why I did this. I didn't do it on purpose, nor did I want to see your body naked."
Don't overthink it.
Jiang Yufan emphasized the last few words, hoping that Gu Sidu would understand.
“But I just heard them say that you meditated and communicated with spirits for me all night. I am so moved. I will follow you for the rest of my life.”
Unable to explain further, Jiang Yufan stared wide-eyed. She had no idea how Gu Sidu had connected those unimportant things and moved her so deeply. It seemed like nothing she said would make a difference; it seemed like she didn't need to say anything at all.
"No, Gu Sidu, I just..."
“Bodhisattva, please stop. I know what you’re going to say,” Gu Sidu said, raising his hand to stop Jiang Yufan. “You’re going to say again that you’re a fake Bodhisattva, that you can’t communicate with me, that you’re just putting on an act, right?”
Jiang Yufan nodded: "I was too sleepy at the time, I just..."
Gu Sidu made a shushing gesture and said, "Bodhisattva, but you still saved me. You don't need to say these things anymore. I'm tired of hearing them. Please say something else."
Jiang Yufan looked at Gu Sidu in silence. She decided to keep quiet this time. Gu Sidu's mind was really different from others.
After the meal, the maid cleared away the tray, and Gu Sidu got out of bed and sat down beside Jiang Yufan. Gu Sidu's eyes were bright, as if she had been given a second chance at life: "Bodhisattva, did you not sleep all night because of me?"
"Were you exhausted but forcing yourself to stay awake so you could rush to my rescue when I fainted?"
Dao Yun covered her mouth and chuckled secretly. She laughed at Gu Sidu for being lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't until Jiang Yufan and Gu Sidu looked over that Dao Yun calmed down and said to Gu Sidu, "Yes, that's right. Our Buddhist nun sat in meditation all night for you, all for your sake."
"Waaaaah, I'm so touched! Bodhisattva, I will repay you in this lifetime!"
Dao Yun wanted Gu Sidu to believe in Jiang Yufan so that their future lives would be better. Jiang Yufan couldn't expose Dao Yun, and she couldn't say that she had slept quite well last night.
She had other questions for Gu Sidu, and she looked at him very seriously: "Your servants said that you don't like others touching your body, and that you will get angry if they do. Is that true?"
"I touched your body, why aren't you angry?"
Gu Sidu, with his heart set on Buddha, scratched his head and smiled slightly at Jiang Yufan.
Gu Sidu did it on purpose, Jiang Yufan realized, she had been deceived!
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